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At the very least, Penn State hasn’t had to battle the unknown. There have been no mysteries in recent weeks, and there won’t be any today.

Want to beat Wisconsin? Want to set themselves up for a strong finish to a season that had so many near misses?

They know they’ll have to deal with Jonathan Taylor and an offensive line that has been the Badgers’ bread-and-butter for years.

Jockeying for bowl positioning and looking to wash away the taste of their first blowout loss in more than two years, No. 20 Penn State (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) will host Wisconsin (6-3, 4-2) at noon at Beaver Stadium, fully understanding the Badgers offense goes through its powerful-but-explosive sophomore, who leads the nation in rushing.

It’s a challenge, but one Penn State faced against Michigan State or Iowa or Michigan, similarly physical teams that power their offense behind big, experienced lines and a run-first mindset.

Penn State seems ready to use that experience to its benefit.

“Obviously they are a talented team up front, and he’s a very talented back. But I’ve been saying for a long time, I think we’re really talented as a defense,” junior safety Garrett Taylor said. “Our front seven are playing really well right now. I think it’s going to start up front, and I think our guys are going to do a great job of giving Wisconsin hard looks and getting knocked back off the ball. We’re going to come out with the right intentions on defense. I think everything after that will take care of itself.”

Both teams opened the season ranked in the top 10 of the preseason Associated Press poll. Both fell after early, tough losses. BYU stunned the Badgers, 24-21, on Sept. 15, and Big Ten title dreams died when they were blown out three weeks later at Michigan.

Taylor has rushed for 100 yards in every game this season, outside of a loss to Northwestern, and in the Badgers’ three losses, he hasn’t scored.

Wisconsin knows it has to get Taylor more involved, and stay consistent with the run game. He has 11 rushing touchdowns this season, but they’ve all come in four games: Two in a win against Western Kentucky in the season opener and three in each of the Badgers’ wins against New Mexico, Nebraska and, last week, Rutgers.

Much has been made of Wisconsin’s quarterback situation — head coach Paul Chryst listed starter Alex Hornibrook as questionable with a concussion, which could lead to the second career start for sophomore Jack Coan — but for his part, Penn State coach James Franklin insisted the identity of the Badgers’ starter mattered little compared to the threat posed by Taylor.

“At the end of the day with them, I don’t know how much it will factor in because I think it will start with the run game,” Franklin said. “It is going to go with the run game through the second and third quarter, and it’s going to be the run game in the fourth quarter. It starts and ends with the run game for them, and then obviously, they are going to compliment it with play-action pass.”

Wisconsin’s run defense has been suspect at times this season, but the Badgers know they have to worry about more than Penn State’s star rusher Miles Sanders.

Despite throwing for just 83 yards — a career low as a starter — against Michigan last Saturday, Wisconsin still remembers what happened the last time Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley played against it in the 2016 Big Ten Championship Game, when he torched the Badgers for 384 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

“You certainly prepare for McSorley,” Chryst said. “He’s a heck of a quarterback, and I love the way he plays the game and competes. Our defense has to plan to stop their offense. You just make sure you’re prepared. Every (other) player is different, but it’s still the same offense. It’s about how we choose to attack it.”

Despite all the Xs and Os, the strategies and the bowl implications, the Nittany Lions know they’re losing opportunities to show the college football world that 2018 is something other than a rebuilding year. Wisconsin might be the last true test they’ll face on a national stage during the regular season, and it’s as good a time as any to right the ship.

“I know right now we’re going through what some might call a little bit of adversity,” Garrett Taylor said. “But this team, we have a lot of fight in us and we have a lot of strong-willed guys. We’re going to go out every week and prepare how we need to prepare, and we’re going to work hard and we’re going to come out and put together a full four quarters each and every Saturday from here on out. So I think it’s a great opportunity for this team to step up and show everyone what we’re made of.”

Contact the writer:

dcollins@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9125

@psubst on Twitter

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